Dear Lifehacker,Windows 8 is out, and it's all anyone's talking about—except everyone just keeps telling me how much it sucks and how I shouldn't upgrade. Why does everyone hate it so much? Should I upgrade, or hold off?

Sincerely, Worried About Windows

Dear Worried, Windows 8 is getting a bad rap from a lot of people, but it really does have a lot of good stuff going for it. After all, people hated XP when it came out, too. Here are some of the things people are complaining about, and why they probably don't matter.

Why People Are Upset: This is the biggest thing people are complaining about. The Start menu is gone, and it's been replaced by a new, full screen, tablet-friendly tiled interface that isn't really that great on a desktop computer. It seems inefficient to go to a full screen interface just to launch an app, especially if you could do the same thing from a small menu on the desktop.

Why It Isn't a Problem: I disagree with Microsoft's choice to get rid of the Start menu. I think it's going to confuse a lot of novice users. However, it's also really, really easy to bring back. In fact, if you download a Start menu replacement, you have a lot more control over what you see in that Start menu, which is actually kind of awesome.

Windows 8 has some pretty cool things going for it, but it's become incredibly controversial…
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Furthermore, the tiled Start screen—while imperfect—isn't really as bad as everyone's saying it is. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy to get around. You can still launch an app by pressing the Windows key and typing the name of the app you want. In fact, it's faster than browsing through the old Start menu, and if you weren't doing it before, you should be. Learn this shortcut. It will become your one true love. Alternatively, you can use an app launcher like Launchy, which pretty much negates the need for a Start menu anyway. All that other stuff in the Start menu, like the Control Panel, PC Info, and Shut Down buttons, can be found in the Charms bar just by pressing Win+C. Easy peasy.

Windows 8 sports a bold new interface designed for both touch-enabled devices and keyboards/mice.…
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Complaint #2: "There Aren't Any New Desktop Features"

Why People Are Upset: I'm not really sure. There are a lot of new desktop features.

Why It Isn't a Problem: Sure, the tiled interface is the biggest change in the new OS, but there are a lot of other changes too, particularly those that pertain to the desktop—in fact, we've talked about them numerous times. Highlights include:

Reset & Refresh, the really cool new features that let you do a clean installation of Windows with just the click of a button.

The Windows 8 Store. It may be a full screen app, but it has desktop apps in it too—making it easier to discover new and awesome apps, not to mention read reviews all in one unified place.

File History, a new backup tool that keeps incremental backups of all the files in your libraries. It's not unlike OS X's Time Machine, letting you restore back to any version of a file at any point in time. File History also has a lot of advanced settings, which is awesome.

Even if you bypass the Start screen entirely, there are a lot new features to get excited about in Windows 8. They may not have been as well marketed as the touch features—again, which I think was a mistake—but they are there, and they're worth upgrading for.

Complaint #3: "It's Bad for Gaming"

Why People Are Upset: Gabe Newell, head of Valve (the company that makes video game app store Steam), recently called Windows 8 a "catastrophe", and other game developers joined in synchronized chorus about how Windows 8 is going to destroy our firstborn children and gamers should just stick with Windows 7. Somehow this has led people to believe that gaming is horrible on Windows 8, Steam won't be supported, and that Microsoft is going to close off its system so you can only buy games in the App Store. None of these are true.

Windows 8 is a threat to computer gaming. It's a "catastrophe," if you listen to…
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So Should You Upgrade?

So now you know that Windows 8 isn't really as bad as everyone says it is. In fact, it's pretty good. But should you upgrade? Well, if your hardware and apps are compatible (which they probably are) and you can spare the $40 to upgrade, yes—we think Windows 8 is well worth the upgrade. Of course, no one's saying you have to—Windows 7 will be supported for awhile—but if you're on the fence, we think you'll like a lot of the new features in Windows 8.